Am I Missing Something?
by LilMiniChu
Summary: No recollection of that art gallery, Ib ends up living her life as usual but with a new girl named Maria involved and a waiter/aspiring artist named Garry, is there something she's forgotten? Maybe there is, and Ib needs to solve it.
1. Chapter 1

_It can't be…_

_He can't be a painting…_

_He promised he'd come for me when I'm in trouble…_

_Garry…_

* * *

Bright lights shone on the ceiling. Did I fall asleep?

On the wall was 'Fabricated World', the painting seems familiar. The museum, this is where I came with my mother and father this afternoon. I think I remember.

I ran to the reception desk, but they were nowhere in sight, I kept running through the halls, my footsteps the only noise being echoed.

My body froze and my red eyes darted to a painting where I thought a portrait called 'The Hanging Man' was. I walked towards it. A sleeping figure. He was quite thin and his clothes were tattered.

"The Forgotten Portrait, huh?" The man beside me looked at the painting as well.

"They say this man was real and he was forgotten by the most important person in his life. He now stays in an eternal sleep."

This man, I remember he was not here before. It was as if the man in the painting was actually here.

I look around more and find a huge rose that looked too beautiful to be real. I tried to read the sign but there are words I don't know, I turn to the man beside me and freeze a bit. This man.

Isn't he the one in the painting?

He looks to me. "What is it little girl? This sculpture? It's called Embodiment of Spirit." He smiles briefly and leaves without another word. My head is spinning a bit and I run back to the Forgotten Portrait.

I pant as I get there, and the same man is still here. He's very tall and has the same shade of hair and even the same clothing from the painting. But as I look to the wall, on it, is a painting called 'The Hanging Man.'

"This picture symbolizes a lot of self-sacrifice…," he says softly. His eyes shift to me, "Oh, you're that little girl from earlier," he smiles and I feel some kind of contentment, "Are you lost?"

I shake my head but reach up to grab ahold of his sleeve.

"Ib!" My mother cries and I cease my actions before walking over to her.

"Let's go home now."

I nod silently and leave with my parents, but that man has not left my mind.

That night, my head is filled with various objects. Headless statues, dolls, crayon drawings, and paintings. So many paintings, each with their own meanings. That man still lingers, his lavender hair that only shows his right sharp eye. Why is he so intriguing? Why is there fire?

* * *

I wake up the next morning to the smell of breakfast. I smell eggs; mother is probably making omelets, my favourite morning meal. My clothes are as usual, a white long sleeved blouse, a red ribbon, black stockings that come up under my knees, red shoes, and a red skirt that goes down to my knees. All I need is my-

Where is my handkerchief? I was sure I kept it with me while I went to the museum yesterday. I head downstairs to join my parents.

"Good morning Ib, hurry and eat breakfast, school will start soon."

My father sits across from me, a steaming cup of coffee on the table as he reads the daily paper. I eat the omelet quickly, being careful not to choke. The fresh vegetables and melted cheese are heaven for my taste buds.

I brush my teeth and grab my brown book bag. I run outside, the sun rays beaming down. I wonder why I feel so happy being able to look at the sun and the sky. I walk past the local shops that sell various items like soap, flowers, and sweets. I head up the stairs to my school and already hear the taunting of the other children.

I am only nine years old, but I get made fun of for reading many books and listening to music instead of playing games. I'm not a big fan of exercise so I guess that might add to my list. They also taunt me for my eyes, a crimson red colour. I like to think they remind me of flowers, roses more specifically.

I sit in my desk alone in the corner; I don't have anyone to sit beside me because no one wants to be near me. I wonder why, my parents raised me to be polite and courteous to others.

During recess, I was reading a book on the famous artist Guertena. Although I did not know many of the words, it still intrigued me.

"Whatcha got there, weirdo?" A young boy called out and grabbed my book.

"Please give it back."

"No way!" He pushed me down and I landed on my behind. "Ha! Now you're just going to cry like a baby!"

I stood up and brushed the dirt off my skirt. "You know, that doesn't hurt at all. I feel like I've been through worse," I said the last part to myself.

"Hey!" A feminine voice came up from the distance. "Give that book back to her. It's very rude that you did that!" I could see her silhouette take the book from the boy before he ran off.

"You okay?" She handed me the book. Her eyes were a bright blue and her hair was like a river of gold. She wore a dark green dress that looked very prim and proper.

"What's your name?"

"…Ib." I said quietly.

"Ib? That's a new name. Well, Ib, my name is Maria."

She sat down beside me. "What are you doing after school? Want to hang out?"

I didn't want to, but this is the first time somebody has actually talked to me. "Okay then."

The school bell rang and Maria left to go to class. I was about to go but I noticed a small book on the ground. It belonged to Maria because her name was inside the cover, but what interested me was how the book had a faint smell of smoke lingering around it.

* * *

After school, I meet Maria outside the school grounds. "Hi there, Ib!" She greets me with a smile. I return her greeting with my own small smile and we begin walking.

We talked about ourselves and found out we lived on the same block. Maria said that she came from France, but she doesn't have a French accent even though she looks like one. "So where should we go Ib?" There weren't many places of interest to me here even though we both lived in upper-class neighborhoods.

"Can we visit the market?"

"Market? You mean the one where a lot of middle and lower-class people go?"

I nod and hold her hand. "I heard that they have nice teashops there," I try to tempt her.

"Well why didn't you say so? Let's go!" She grabs my hands and pulls me along.

It wasn't so busy and it was a beautiful place. The smell of freshly made food, alluring colors of various items on display.

Maria pulls me into small café with a green roof and small patio, inside was very simple looking but it felt comfortable. We took a seat by the window and grab a menu, the food and drinks look delicious! I never knew it was possible to make these kinds of things. "Oh Ib, I'm going to the washroom first, if the waiter comes, tell them I'd like a Mountain Blue Fairy Cake and iced tea." Maria left me to decide on the choice.

The macarons peak my interest and there was a selection of colors. I couldn't pick so I ended up picking a deluxe box, one of each color inside.

One of the waiters comes up to us, he's wearing a light blue buttoned up, long sleeved that was rolled up to his elbows. He also had black dress pants and a black apron around his waist.

"What can I get you?"

That voice. I look up and it's him! That man from the museum. I ended up stuttering. "U-Uh…."

"Hm? Aren't you that girl from the museum yesterday?"

I nod shakily. Maria returns and takes her seat, "Oh! Have you ordered yet, Ib?"

"Ib?" The man says.

I shake my head. "A Mountain Blue Fairy Cake, iced tea, and a Deluxe Box please."

He writes it all down and nods, leaving Maria and I alone. "He looks really old," Maria says.

"He doesn't seem that way."

"He almost looks two-hundred," she giggles as I smile. I can't help but look at him as he prepared our order.

I almost forgot and pulled out Maria's book, putting it on the table. "W-Where did you get that!" She spoke up and snatched it, shoving it into her bag.

"I-I found it on the ground after recess, I didn't look inside it."

She sighs. "Thanks, I knew you were a good friend Ib!" She smiles.

Just as the waiter comes back with our food, Maria hands me a piece of candy, "Here Ib!"

I thank her and watch as this man puts down the food in front of us. He smiles at me as the macarons are placed in front of me. "Enjoy ladies," he says before leaving.

"He really does seem creepy." Maria takes a bite of her cake and her eyes light up. "This is so good! You gotta try it Ib!" She feeds me a piece as my eyes shift around the room in case anyone was watching. Luckily no one was.

I admit the cake as good, but these macaoons make me feel relaxed, like I was reliving a nice memory. I had eaten a pink, green, purple, and orange macaron. All that's left were blue, red, and yellow. These colors…

"Oh no!" Maria's voice broke me out of my small trance. "I promised my father we'd go shopping. See you Ib!" She places a few dollar bills on the table and I take it, it was enough for both of our meals.

"Are you finished with these plates?" The man asks. I nod and he takes them away, but he does something unexpected, he comes back and sits across from me where Maria was sitting.

I can only stare at the three macarons until he picks up the blue one and holds it out in front of me with a smile. "Here," he offers me. I open my mouth and take a bite, delicious like all the others.

"Garry!" A man calls out, "You've worked hard today so you can get off early."

The lavender haired man nods and smiles back at me. "Well, it looks like I'm free."

"My name…is Ib…."

"Ib? That sounds like a very nice name. Say Ib, would you like to come with me to the store? I have to pick up some supplies."

Without even thinking I accept and finish eating the macarons before collecting my stuff, my book on Guertena would not fit in my already full school bag, so I hold it on our way.

We come up to a small store, it's a bit dark but I feel safe somehow. "Ah, here it is." Garry, as I now know, pulls out a small packet of what appear to be paintbrushes.

"It seems that you like Guertena's work, Ib. He does make some wonderful paintings." Garry says.

"You like art?" I ask him.

"Why yes, I'm a bit of a painter myself but I only paint when I have the feeling to, other times I just look through magazines of clothing or play on my guitar."

"Wow…," was all I could muster up.

He smiles down at me. "One day I'll play for you, I have a new piece I'm preparing and I'd love for you to be the first one to hear it."

I smile back to him and feel something hard in my pocket. It's a piece of candy from Maria, I unwrap and pop it into my mouth, it tastes like lemon.

"Here," Garry places a small candy in my hand, "You seem to enjoy candy Ib."

As we walk outside I hold onto Garry's hand while crossing the street. He walks me home before the sun sets and I wave to him.

Garry makes me smile. I feel safe when I'm near him.

I go inside my house and both my parents are there with their arms crossed in front of their chests. "Who was that?" My mother asks, her red eyes seem angry.

"He's a waiter from the café I went to with Maria. He brought me home after we went to the art store," I explain quietly.

"What café?" My father then asks.

"The one down near my school."

"You mean where the lower-class people go? Ib, how many times have we told you, you can't go running off with strangers and you cannot go over there. We are a part of the upper-class society, it isn't right for the two classes to mix."

"But what if I want to talk to him? He's nice and makes really good macarons!" I instantly regret saying that.

My mother grabs my wrist and pulls me up to my room, pushing me inside and locking the door. "You won't come out until you've learned your lesson, young lady!"

I lay down on my bed; the red cotton sheets are soft. The bed feels lonely, why is that? I feel like I need someone else here. I take out the candy Garry gave me and set it down beside me.

* * *

**A/N: So basically, this isn't any of the legit endings, it's more of my own kind of ending with a small pinch of a few of them. It's not a whole happy-go-lucky story there will be a bit of darker things. I have also looked on the wikia page for the Ib games and it does say that she is about nine years old. If there is a mistake, feel free to PM or leave it in a review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This story will now be written in third person. Tip to remember: Ib saw the Forgotten Portrait whereas Garry saw the Hanged Man, relevant to where it depends on who sees what (ex: the doll room).**

* * *

"Don't you think you were a bit hard on Ib dear?" Ib's father asked his wife.

The tall woman put her feet together and frowned, "I don't think so. That stranger brought our daughter here and I have never seen him, also because he is so low-class."

"Dear, you're being too old fashioned."

"Me? Old fashioned?"

"Yes," Ib's father sighed, "There isn't a problem with our daughter making friends with someone from a different class as us. But I do agree that that man was a complete stranger and I do fear for Ib's well-being."

The woman sighed and went back up to Ib's room. Seeing her daughter just lying down as if she were almost lifeless on her bed concerned the older woman.

"Ib dear?"

Ib looked up at her mother without much expression.

"I'm sorry about earlier, I was too hard on you, but you know how your father and I always told you not to talk to strangers? Well that rule applies to that man, we don't know him and he could be dangerous."

Ib looked quietly at the piece of candy Garry had given her. "He's my friend…just like Maria…."

"Ib…"

Her mother didn't know what else to say. Trying to convince her daughter to not go near Garry would be a good idea, but she couldn't constantly supervise her.

"Please, Ib, just promise me you won't talk to anymore strangers."

Ib nodded and gave her mother a hug, her mother returned it and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Dinner will be ready in half an hour," she said before leaving Ib to her thoughts.

The brunette sat at her desk, reading about Guertena's works again. She searched page after page on the painting known as 'The Forgotten Portrait'. Nothing came up and Ib took a break when she heard tapping at her window. Looking outside was Maria with a small pebble in her hands.

"Ib!"

Ib looked down at her new found friend.

"Let's hang out again tomorrow!" Maria smiled and ran home.

The young girl smiled to herself and went downstairs once she was called to dinner.

At the dinner table, it was quiet as usual. Ib's father glanced at her mother and cleared his throat.

"O-oh! Ib dear, your father and I don't have work this weekend, is there something you'd like us to do?"

The first thought that came to Ib's mind was, "The gallery."

"You want to go again?" Her father questioned.

Ib simply nodded and took a sip of water.

"What about the park? Or the new boat tours down by the docks?"

Ib sat quietly and looked up to her parents. "May we please go back? I think I forgot my handkerchief there…"

"Alright then."

"Can we also go to the café Maria took me? Maybe you can meet Garry," Ib said his name with a small smile.

"T-That man that brought you here?" Her mother's voice stiffened.

"Yes, mother. He's very kind."

Ib's mother looked to her father, "We'll see."

Ib fell asleep that night peacefully, realizing that the man that was in her dreams was none other than Garry, but what still annoyed her was that she felt like she was missing something critical.

* * *

The young brunette's morning was just like all the others, mother's breakfast and father's hand-made lunch ready for her. Ib saw Maria walking that morning to school and ran up to the girl.

"Good morning, Ib," Maria greeted her friend cheerfully, "It's finally Friday! Do you want to play after school today?"

"Where?"

"At my house of course! We could play with my dolls and draw pictures since I have a lot of crayons."

Ib accepted and held her friends hand as they went to school.

During art class, it was at that time during the semester that each of the students would pick an artist and attempt to re-create one of their works. Ib had quickly written down Guertena and looked through her book. She began painting 'The Coughing Man'.

The same boy came by and looked at her easel. "You picked that dead old dude again? He's so lame!" He then swiped a dirty paintbrush over Ib's work. The teacher came by later to punish the young boy.

Ib stared at the messy painting and decided she would start again. A new canvas and new paint gave Ib a small spark of inspiration, she would paint her new friend Maria. She started with the basics, peach-colored skin and then the green dress, blue eyes, and golden hair. A smile was put on her lips as Ib stepped back and admired her work.

Somehow, Ib had the idea that a border would fit, just so it looked like a real portrait. She started with green lines like the dress and she wanted to do something with yellow, because the color suited Mary so much. Ib decided on a few roses, it was her first time painting them.

"That looks wonderful Ib! Let it dry for now and you can take it home at the end of the day," her teacher said. Ib nodded and simply admired the painting quietly.

"What do you call it?" Her teacher asks.

Ib thought for a moment, she thought of using Maria's name, but she feared she might get in trouble, "Mary…"

"What a beautiful title, she looks just like a Mary!"

"Ib!" Maria yelled from across the field during recess once more.

"Hello…."

Maria sat down beside Ib on the green grass, smoothing out her dress. "What did you do today?"

"I painted in class today, in fact, I'll show you after school…."

"Okay then."

The two girls sat quietly as Ib read her usual book. "Maria, you look a lot like Mary…."

"M-Mary…?"

Ib nodded, "Mary from Guertena's works. It's like you two could be twins."

Maria chuckled uneasily. "Y-You're so silly, Ib! W-Well I must go to class…," Maria left Ib under the tree.

After school, the two friends walked home once again. "Is that what you were going to show me Ib?" Maria pointed to the canvas.

Ib nodded and held it up for her to see. "It's Mary…," she smiled to herself.

Maria froze, "I-Ib…that's very…nice…." Maria cleared her throat and began walking again. Ib wondered why Maria got tense as she looked at the painting.

"Hey, Ib, do you want to go back down to the stores again?"

Ib remembered her promise to her mother, she wouldn't talk to strangers, but Garry wasn't a stranger. "Okay, one more time wouldn't hurt…."

"Yay!" Maria held Ib's hand and they went back.

"These flowers are so pretty!" Maria said as she looked at the flowers outside of a florist boutique. Maria went inside for a moment as Ib stood outside, simply admiring the different flowers.

"Ib?"

Ib turned and saw Garry with a bag full of more painting supplies. She smiled as she greeted him.

"Hi there, Ib, what are you doing here today? Shouldn't you be home?" Garry wondered.

Ib nodded but pointed inside, "Maria is in there…."

"Hm? Your friend from yesterday?"

Ib nodded and showed him the painting she did.

Garry looked surprised, "Wow, Ib! That's very good for a girl you're age."

Ib smiled and gave Garry a hug, for some reason, it felt comfortable to hug him as his long coat almost draped over her small frame. "How is your new song...?" The little girl asked.

"It's coming along well, in fact, I'll be done with it by tonight. Here," Garry handed her a slip of paper, "Whenever you're in trouble, just call and I'll come running." He smiled and she did too.

"Ib?" Maria said as she came out with a handful of flowers. "The creepy guy from the café! H-How do you know him?"

"I-I…um…." Garry's eyes shifted to the side.

"My brother…he's my big brother…."

Both Maria and Garry looked at Ib, shocked by what she said. "W-What did you say Ib…?"

Ib nodded at Maria and hugged Garry again, "He's my big brother…."

"R-Right," Garry stuttered out.

Maria shrugged what Ib said away and handed her a flower that was wrapped in paper before going on her way home.

Ib looked in the paper and inside was a red rose.

* * *

**A/N: Not sure when the next chapter will be up, I have a special visitor coming tomorrow and will be staying with me for the whole week. I also apologize if any of the characters are ooc, please send me a PM or review if you think there is something I could improve on.**


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